Iowa-class Battleship
The''' Iowa-class battleships''' are some of the strongest, fastest and heavily armed battleships in the United States Naval Fleet. Ordered in 1939 and commissioned inthe 1940's, they have seen action in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, the First Gulf War, World War III, and the Earth-Prometheus War. History In the 1930's the United States began working on a new class of battleships based on the London Naval Treaty. Contracts were then awarded to four shipyards to build the class and the ships were then named Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, ''and ''Kentucky. Iowa and New Jersey's construction began in 1940, followed by Missouri and Wisconsin in 1941. All ships, except Illinois and Kentucky, were completed and commissioned during World War II, and the ones not yet built were planned for post-war construction. World War II Following their completion and shakedon, the four active ships were assigned to the Pacific fleet to escort the fast aircraft carrier battlegroups fighting the Japanese navy. They served numberous deployments and first formed the infamous "Battlegroup Iowa", a combined battleship assault group that, along with the North Carolina and Indiana, bombarded the shores of Okinawa, Muroran, and Kahoolawe before sailing to Yokosuka Naval Arsenal for it's surrender. The Japanese surrendered to the United States on August 15, 1945. On September 2, the Japanese formally surrendered to the United States in Tokyo Bay. Missouri was chosen as the ship that the surrender documents were signed, ending the war. The Navy later stated that the Illinois and Kentucky would be built once the Montana-class was completed and commissioned. Korean War In 1950, when the Korean War broke out, President Truman ordered all four Iowa''s to assist U.N. forces combating North Korean troops. As the ''Iowa''s were the only active class of battleships at the time and the ''Montana-class was still under construction, shore bombardment was a key objective during the four years of war. With the ceasefire signed in 1953, marking a demilitarized zone along the 38th Parallel, the Iowa-class returned to the eastern United States, where they were first decommissioned in 1958. Vietnam War The class was recommissioned in 1966 and underwent an overhaul to increase their strength. Their armor was thickened by two inches (50.8 millimeters), their floatplane launch catapults and four of their dual barrel Mark 12 5"/38 caliber guns were removed. After their refit, the four ships went to Southeast Asia to assist American forces fighting in Vietnam. Missouri and New Jersey provided shore bombardment on North Vietnamese forces, while Wisconsin and Iowa provided escort for U.S. carrier groups. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the Iowa-class was tasked with coastal defense missions with Missouri and Wisconsin in the Pacific Ocean, and Iowa ''and ''New Jersey in the Atlantic. The Iowa-class was decommissioned for the second time in 1976 and sent to the reserve fleet in Norfolk, Virginia. The Cold War In 1984, the Navy ordered all four Iowa''s to be refitted and brought back into service as part of President Ronald Reagan's 600-ship Navy plan. The ships were taken to Long Beach Naval Shipyard where they were given eight Armored Box Launchers, four Mk. 141 quad cell launchers, four Phalanx CIWS, and new advanced electronics. ''Illinois and Kentucky's contracts were officially ordered, and the ships were laid down in Philadelphia and Newport News respectively. Two years later, Kentucky was launched and christened, followed by Illinois six weeks later. As requested by Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman and President Reagan, the entire class was recommissioned at a massive Fleet Week celebration in San Francisco. The Gulf War and the First Aires War The Gulf War was the first war all six ships saw action as an entire class. In 1990, "Battlegroup Iowa" was reunited and assisted U.N. naval forces during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in which they provided bombardment attacks on Persian shores. TBA World War III After the war ended, the ships were mothballed again, this time being maintained often in case of the Navy needing them again. In 2003, the Iowa-class was reactivated to increase naval strength until the Hawaii-class ships were commissioned, but it was decided that the Iowas were to stay in service to maintain a superior navy. TBA The War with Prometheus During the early days of the Earth-Prometheus War, Missouri, Wisconsin and'' Illinois helped escort ammunition, medical, and repair convoys to the AF islands after being severely damaged from a previous attack. The three ships helped escort more convoys to the AF blockade during the ANF's AIF Breakout Campaign. After the AIF was liberated, the ships were awarded three battle stars for their support. The ships were also involved in various convoy raids against the Imperial Rebel Front following the Battle of Chicago. On December 25, 2014, it was announced that the ''Wisconsin and Illinois would be decommissioned for the final time. The ships served a one month deployment off the coasts of New Belka to monitor the sentient HXFS Delusion (D-40)'s actions, the status of the super weapons, and possible weaknesses for reclaiming the Armadian territory, but no known weak points were found. The ships were originally planned to be in the United Aerospace Command's attack on the Prometheus Corporation, refered to as [[Operation Overlord|Operation Overlord II]], until the attack was put on hold due to the beginning of the DPL Civil War. Both ships returned to the United States on January 22, 2015 for their decommissioning, even though their replacements, USS Illinois (BBGN-94) and USS Wisconsin (BBGN-95), were expected to be completed in two weeks. The two ships were sent to Newport News where they were taken apart and transported by train to the Midwest to become museums in their namesake states. Ships in Class Bold indicates a decommission vessel. USS Iowa.JPG|USS Iowa (BB-61), lead ship in the class. USS New Jersey.JPG|USS New Jersey (BB-62) USS Missouri.JPG|USS Missouri (BB-63) USS Wisconsin.JPG|USS Wisconsin (BB-64) USS Illinois.JPG|USS Illinois (BB-65) USS Kentucky.JPG|USS Kentucky (BB-66), last ship in the class. Armament *3 x Triple Barrel 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun turrets *10 x Dual Barrel Mark 12 5"/38 caliber turrets *16 x Harpoon missile launchers *80 x 40mm/56 caliber Bofors anti-aircraft guns *2 x 20mm (.78 inch) Phalanx CIWS *8 x 4 round Mark 143 Armored Box Launcher''s '' Trivia *All ships are the purchasable Iowa in the app but with slight Hansa modifications. *In real life, Illinois and Kentucky were scrapped before being completed. *The AIF's Independence-class battleships are based on one of the real life planned redesigns of Illinois. *Only two Iowa''s were in the same battlegroup and same homeport as each other, ''Wisconsin and Illinois in the Midwest Battlegroup stationed in Los Angeles. *IRL, only the New Jersey was recommissioned to shell Communist forces in Vietnam, and was only in the war for a total of one year. *The class being refitted with missile launchers resulted with them being called "guided missile battleships" by Aires forces during the First Aires War. **This has also resulted a constant debate by naval enthusiasts whether to consider the ''Iowa-''class as the first class of this type or not. Category:Vessel Classes by Harmonmj13 Category:United States Ships Category:Battleships Category:Decommissioned Vessels Category:Real Life Vessels